Convertible pump



No. sn;424. Patented Sept, 27, I898. F. WENKEB.

CONVERTIBLE PUMP.

(Application. filed Mar. 14, 1898.)

(No Model.)

llivrrnn STATES {I Arena @rrron.

FRANKLIN J. WVENKER, OF WATERTOWVN, WVISOONSIN.

CONVERTIBLE PUMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,424, dated September 27, 1898.

Application filed March 14,1898.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN J. WENKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Vatertown, in the county of Jefferson and State of WVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Convertible Pumps; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to the class of pumps operated by a piston within a cylinder; and it consists in certainpeculiarities of construction and combination of parts which render the said pump convertible at will from an air-pump to a liquid foroe-pump, all as will be fully set forth hereinafter and subsequently claimed.

I11 the drawings, Figure l is a view in side elevation of my pump with its parts assembled to enable it to be used as an air-pump; and Fig. 2 is a like view with its parts arranged so as to constitute a liquid force-pump, portions being represented as broken away or in section to better illustrate certain de tails of construction in both figures.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the cylinder of my pump, open at each end; B, the cap for the upper end, and O the valve-casing fitting on the loweroend, of said cylinder.

D is the piston-rod, the upper end of which passes through a hole a in the cap B and is there fitted with a suitable handle E. The piston is formed of two disks 1) and c of different diameters, (that of the upper disk I) being the greater, but that disk being a trifle smaller than the bore of the cylinder A,) with a flexible sucker F between them. This piston is secured in place on the lower end of the piston-rod, between a collar cl on said rod and a nut c on the extreme lower screwthreaded end of the rod.

G is a liquid-outlet pipe leading obliquely upward from the lower part of the cylinder A, and when my device is used as an airpump, as presently explained, the outlet-pipe is closed, as by a cork f, as shown in Fig. 1, or by a tight screw-cap or other suitable closure.

The valve-casing O, fitted tothe lower end of the cylinder A, is represented in Fig. 1 in one position and in Fig. 2 as in a reversed position. Referring first to Fig. 1 thev said cas- Eerial N 673,712. (No model.)

in g C is cylindrical and fits closely on the cylinder A, and near one end (the lower end in Fig. 1) said casing is provided with a circumferential series of holes g g g, above which (in Fig. 1) is a transverse guide-bar h, centrally perforated to receive one end of the valve-stem 2', whose other end passes through a like central perforation in a yokej, secured to a partition-plate II, having a large central aperture 7c, the extreme end of said stem 2' having a nut or collar m thereon, and between the plate II and bar 7b the valve-stem 2' carries a valve I, held securely in position thereon, as by plates or washers n n. In Fig. 2 the casing O is reversed, as stated; but the parts thereof are allthe same as those just described, and in said Fig. 2 I show the outlet-pipe G fitted with a pipe J, (instead of a cork f,) said pipe J terminating in a sprinklerhead K.

The pump when organized as an air-pump, as shown in Fig. 1, is particularly well adapted for cooling fresh milk, and in such use the liquid-outlet G is closed, as shown, and the pump plunged into the receptacle containing the milk, so that the casing C will rest on the bottom of the said receptacle, and then the piston is worked in the ordinary manner. With each upstroke of the piston the sucker F will collapse around the periphery of the lower disk 0, and thus permit the outside air, which enters through the hole Ct in the cap B, to pass below the piston as the latter is drawn up. The suction below is sufficient to raise the valve I (this valve being made preferably of wood, cork, or other light material, so as to either float or rise readily) and close the central opening in the plate H, and. thus prevent the milk (in the instance given) from following the piston. With the downstroke of the piston the air below it will expand the edge or apron of the sucker F and prevent upward escape of said air,which is thus forced downward,forcing the valve I down to its seat on the bar It and escaping through the described series of holes 9 g g into the milk, near the bottom of the receptacle containing the latter, the effect of which will be to cool and purify the milk and drive the animal heat therein contained to the top of the milk, (as said heat is lighter than the cool air beneath,) which will preserve the milk from souring and produce an added quantity of cream or butter therefrom. This cooling requires but a very brief time and is very thorough and satisfactory. While I have illustrated this use of my pump in connection with the cooling of milk, I do not of course confine the use thereto, as it may be used wherever an airpump of this class is desirable.

In Fig. 2 I show the same pump with the valve-casing C reversed and an extension spout or tube J applied to the outlet-pipe G in place of the cork shown in Fig. 1. In this arrangement my pump becomes a liquid forcepump, and by the described reversal of the said casing O the series of holes g g g are closed by the solid tubular wall of the cylinder A, and the valve I normally closes the aperture 70 in the plate H and acts as a checkvalve, the operation of the pump in this position being too obvious to require extended description. The spout or pipe J may terminate in a sprinkler-head K, as shown, or may have a'nozzle attached thereto or be a plain pipe, just as preferred, or in place of the inflexible pipe J any flexible or other tube maybe applied to the outlet-pipe G, all these being mere matters of detail not affecting my said invention.

My device will be found particularly useful to farmers and dairymen living in the country,- as it combines in one and the same article an air-pump suitable for cooling milk, 820., as described, and a liquid force-pump for garden use or for cleaning vehicles and use about barns and stables and the like, it requiring only a moments time to apply or remove the cork or other stopper and to reverse the valve-casing C, and while the whole device can be made cheaply and sold at a small price it is as efficient and useful as two high-priced separate pumps would be.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A convertible pump, comprising a cylinder, a piston movable therein, and a reversible valve-casing adapted for engagament with the lower end of said cylinder, and containing a vertically-guided check-valve, together with suitable inlets and outlets, whereby said pump is adapted for use as an air-pump or a liquid force-pump, according to the position of the said reversible valve-casing.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Watertown, in the county of Jefferson and State of VVisconsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

FRANKLIN J. \VENKER.

Vitnesses:

WILLIAM AMES, W. D. STACY. 

